Attention, nurses who work in maternal-child health: See this letter (pasted below) from the Minnesota Department of Health regarding storage and use of residual blood spots.
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MNA President Linda Hamilton’s Response to Minnesota Adverse Events Report’s Release
26 Jan
MNA President Linda Hamilton
Have you or a family member ever had the unfortunate experience of suffering from a pressure ulcer? In addition to being extremely unpleasant and painful, pressure ulcers can become so deep that they result in damage to your muscles, bones, tendons and joints.
And pressure ulcers – also commonly known as bedsores – are almost always preventable when proper staffing levels are adhered to.
Yet last week’s release of Minnesota’s Eighth Annual Adverse Events Report noted that incidents involving pressure ulcers spiked more than 19 percent statewide in 2011. What state hospital executives didn’t mention in spinning away that alarming statistic was that numerous national studies have shown a direct correlation between inadequate nurse staffing levels and an increase in conditions including pressure ulcers, pneumonia, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, shock/cardiac arrest, urinary tract infections and more.
The numbers don’t lie – safe staffing levels save lives and improve patient outcomes. While many will remember that the Twin Cities nurses’ strike during the summer of 2010 shined a white-hot spotlight on the issue, unsafe staffing has been a problem in Minnesota for decades.
As patients, you deserve better. You and your loved ones should never suffer without need from pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections or other conditions that can be prevented with adequate RN staffing levels.
Money is not the issue. Keep in mind that during the great recession of 2009, Twin Cities hospitals had their largest profit margins (6.5 percent) in a decade! It’s not that hospital executives can’t pay to adequately staff their hospitals. They just don’t want to.
My fellow nurses will continue to remain vocal about the needless suffering we in our patients see as a result. And data such as the recently released Adverse Events Report will continue to lend credibility and credence to our concerns.
Sincerely,
Linda Hamilton, RN
President, Minnesota Nurses Association
Upcoming MNA Event: Building a Health Care System Based on Nursing Values, Part 2
5 Jan
Also, here’s a Video Recap of Part 1:
Urgent: Scope of Practice Alert for Nurses
20 DecAction Needed Before Dec. 23!
A special note from MNA President Linda Hamilton:
MNA President Linda Hamilton
Contact CMS on Proposed Rule Changes: START HERE or tell others to go to www.mnnurses.org/CMS
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has proposed changes to rules regarding hospitals that will severely impact Nursing Practice. Read a partial list below. Read the whole document on the CMS website.
Billed as changes to “lift burdensome and duplicative regulations,” many of these changes represent a real threat to the autonomous practice and patient advocacy role of Registered Nurses. In developing these proposals, CMS obviously chose to accept blindly the anecdotal examples of the American Hospital Association (AHA).
No attempt was made by CMS to reach out to organizations that represent registered nurses in these settings so that direct care/front line RNs could participate in the consultative stage of these proposed changes.
Imagine how drastically your nursing practice would change for the worse if your patients’ caregivers or family members were allowed to give them medications in the hospital? That is just one of many recent changes proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid as conditions of participation.
I, along with our colleagues across the nation of National Nurses United are very concerned about this potential assault on our practice. NNU has submitted a formal organizational response (read it here)
I also urge individual MNA members to submit comments before the deadline. Click on this link to submit your own comments on these egregious proposed changes
Forward this memo to colleagues, or tell them to visit www.mnnurses.org/cms.
The Deadline for comments is: 5 pm EST, December 23, 2011.
Thanks for your continued support,
Linda Hamilton, RN President, Minnesota Nurses Association and Vice President, National Nurses United
Virginia RNs Call for Charter Change; More Nurse Involvement
31 OctRNs at Virginia Regional Medical Center Call for Charter Change; Involvement of Bedside Nurses
Virginia, MN (Oct. 25, 2011) – VRMC RNs voted overwhelmingly today to support the City of Virginia’s proposed charter change that would alter the terms of what is considered a sale of the city-owned hospital. “We believe a partnership agreement may be the best way to ensure a sustainable future for our hospital,” said Dave Perron, RN Chair of the VRMC nurse’s union bargaining unit, represented by Minnesota Nurses Association.
However, the nurses at VRMC have a number of concerns about the process the city has utilized so far in its initial negations with potential partners. Of chief concern for the VRMC RNs is the composition of the committee currently negotiating with a potential partner. Committee members include several with no health care experience, and noticeably absent is a representative from the nursing profession who currently practices at the bedside. Nurses have repeatedly asked for representation on the committee, but surprisingly, have been told their knowledge and experience caring for patients were not welcome.
VRMC nurses believe a charter change would improve VRMC’s negotiating position as it moves forward in possible partnership talks with outside entities. Any such agreement would require approval by a two thirds vote of both the hospital commission and city council.
“We are mandated patient advocates, but we can’t advocate for our patients when we are being kept out of discussions,” stated Peggy Anderson, a Short-Stay Surgery registered nurse with 26 years experience and MNA Co-Chair. “Nurses vow to continue advocating for their patients and will continue to demand to be included in any process that affects patient care at VRMC,” said Dave Perron.
Founded in 1905, the Minnesota Nurses Association represents more than 20,000 nurses in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. MNA is also a founding member of National Nurses United, which represents more than 170,000 RNs across the United States.
Press Release: Action-packed MNA Convention kicks off Oct. 16th
14 Oct
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: John Nemo, MNA, 651-414-2863
ST. PAUL, Minnesota (October 14, 2011) – The Minnesota Nurses Association will usher in an action-packed week of organizational changes, nursing practice advocacy and visits from high-profile guests including Gov. Mark Dayton at its annual convention Oct. 16-19 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown St. Paul.
Hundreds of nurses from across the state will gather to swear in a newly-elected MNA President and Board of Directors, debate resolutions related to RN safety in the workplace and publicly advocate for a Financial Transaction Tax on Wall Street as part of National Nurses United’s “Main Street Contract for America.”
“Nurses make a difference because we see things differently,” MNA President Linda Hamilton said. “We see the angst behind a smile. We see the will to live under pain. We see the family. We see the pocketbook. We see the history and the hopes – and we fight like hell for all of it – for all of them who depend on us, who deserve human touch, who deserve to truly be seen, not just counted.”
Convention highlights will include:
- Healthcare whistleblower David Feinwachs speaking at 3 p.m. Sunday on “HMOs and Taxpayers – the $3 Billion Question”
- Gov. Mark Dayton addressing nurses at 9 a.m. on Monday
- A special presentation on the “Main Street Contract for America” and how it has served as a precursor to the current “Occupy Wall Street” movement, at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday
- A public action/demonstration on the streets of downtown St. Paul by hundreds of Minnesota nurses in support of a Financial Transaction Tax on Wall Street.
NOTE: All of the above events will be broadcast LIVE online via MNA’s UStream Channel.
Formed in 1905, the Minnesota Nurses Association represents more than 20,000 nurses in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. MNA is also a founding member of National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union of Registered Nurses, which represents 170,000 RNs across the United States.
Special Single-Payer Event on Sept. 25th
14 SepThe U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that nearly 50 million people had no health insurance in 2010, the highest number since the statistic was first collected more than two decades ago.
What’s the solution? MNA is helping sponsor a free talk on Sunday, Sept. 25, from 2:30-4:00 p.m. that could provide critical answers. Dr. William Hsiao, Single-Payer Master Architect, will speak on “How to Build a Single-Payer System.” Here are the details:
Unsafe Staffing – Today’s Story
10 Aug
MNA Nurses fill out hundreds of Concern For Safe Staffing forms online each month. The story below is just one example of how unsafe staffing conditions inside Minnesota hospitals continue to have negative – and sometimes even deadly – consequences for patients and nurses. (Note: Due to HIPAA privacy laws for patients and concerns for potential workplace retaliation by employers against RNs, we do not identify the specific nurse and/or patient(s) involved in each story in this space.)
“The charge nurse was assigned a patient with an LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device, a machine that helps the patient’s heart keep pumping while he or she waits for a heart transplant) – which is unacceptable with the degree of nursing work that is to be done with these type of patients. The remainder of the staff were stretched too far, with extremely high acuity (i.e. very sick) patients (with everyone assigned at least 6 patients), so we were unable to support one another.”
Legislative Update April 1, 2011
1 AprMNA Legislative Update for April 1, 2011
The legislative session continues at a rapid pace. The overarching issue is the $5 billion state budget deficit. This week included floor votes on several big budget bills including Health and Human Services and State Government Finance. In every case, the Republican majorities have refused to consider Governor Dayton’s proposal to make the rich pay their fair share of income taxes, so the cuts-only budgets the House and Senate are proposing are extremely deep and will create long-term damage.
Amendment to Remove Interstate Licensure Compact Defeated By Republicans on Senate Floor
Senator Kathy Sheran, RN, a nurse educator (DFL-Mankato) offered an amendment to remove the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact from the Senate Health and Human Services Finance Omnibus Bill on Wednesday. Senator Sheran said this controversial piece of legislation has no place in a budget bill. Senator Gretchen Hoffman, who is also an RN, authored the Compact as an amendment last week, without notice and without a proper hearing in the Senate policy committee. The amendment to remove it from the budget bill failed on a party line vote 37- 26[link: http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/journals/2011-2012/20110330034.pdf#Page59]. We anticipate the Governor will veto this omnibus bill, but Senate Republicans are still planning to hold a hearing about the Compact as an individual bill, so please watch for watch for that.
Action Needed: Calls Needed to the Governor Now
We fully anticipate that the Interstate Compact could move on its own, so please call the Governor TODAY at 651-201-3400 to express your opposition. (If you prefer you can send him an email [link: http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form/] or send a Facebook message [link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000091204032&ref=ts]
Here are the talking points for our opposition to the Interstate Licensure Compact:
- patient safety issues due to the inability of the BON to regulate nurses within our borders;
- differing standards in nurse practice acts within the Compact States which has the effect of lowering our state standards;
- issues around the due process rights’ for nurses including confidentiality and information sharing;
- new roles for the employer in regulating nursing practice which will impede our professional nurses’ role as patient advocate;
- loss of state revenue for states who have joined the Compact;
- interference with our ability to organize and ability for health
care corporations to move strike breakers across state lines; - loss of Jobs if Health Care Corporations begin using telehealth as a means of replacing higher waged RNs with nurses from other state or countries that are less costly.
Health and Human Services budget cuts will devastate our health care programs and the patients we care for.
The Senate passed their Health and Human Services Omnibus bill on a party line vote this past week as well. The bill included $1.6 billion in cuts to health care coverage and services to the vulnerable, sick, and elderly. The bill will no longer cover prosthetics, glasses or dentures for people on Medicaid. In addition, it eliminates all OT, PT and speech therapy and caps many of the waivered programs that have helped people with disabilities and the elderly live in their homes. In addition, the bill eliminates MinnesotaCare by giving people with low-incomes a voucher to buy private insurance with no provisions for cost –sharing, meaning some people could end up on high-deductible plans that could be as much as $12,000 a year. The bill also included language establishing the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact, which was snuck into the bill with no notice and no opportunity for public testimony. (see above)
We anticipate a floor vote on the House HHS omnibus bill next week.
Public Employees Under Attack
The State Government Omnibus bills passed both houses and are headed to conference committee. Between the two bills, there are numerous attacks on state workers, including our nurses. These attacks include wage freezes, devastating changes to health insurance- forcing all state workers on to high deductible health plans, among other things. Many legislators in both houses attempted to remove these harmful sections of the bills but were unsuccessful.
The Public Safety Omnibus bill passed the House floor yesterday on a partisan vote. This bill also has devastating cuts to many programs, including a 65% cut to the Human Rights Department. The one and only good thing that changed was the section or article that removed most corrections workers, including MNA nurses, from the corrections pension plan was deleted the day before. On Tuesday, the author Rep. Cornish deleted the section as they found out this change would have actually cost the state money rather than provide a savings, which they had planned on. However, this “idea” is still alive in HF 1072 and will likely resurface in the Legislative Pension Commission soon. Please stay tuned.
Community Paramedic
While MNA opposed this bill essentially allowing paramedics to practice Public Health Nursing, we did win a victory in that a Public Health Nurse was added to the list of stakeholders who will determine the list of services they can provide. We even have a Public Health Nurse who was a paramedic in his early career who would like to be part of the stakeholder group. This bill passed the senate 62-0 but has not had third and final reading on the House floor. MNA remains supportive of accessing health care to all Minnesotans, especially in our rural communities. However, simply expanding services a health care worker can provide is not the solution.
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